Thermoplastic polyolefin roof membranes exposed in the western united states for seven years

The Western States Roofing Contractors Association (WSRCA), thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO) roofing manufacturers, and the National Research Council Canada started a TPO Weathering Farm Project in 2000 to examine weathering characteristics of TPO roof membranes by exposing them to various weather conditions of four distinctly different climatic regions in the Western United States. The goal was to provide technical and performance information to the Western States Roofing Contractors Association membership, and the North American roofing community at large, regarding TPO roof membranes' attributes, performance properties, and resistance to weathering. The results are applicable to other regions in North America as the roofs are in four distinctive climate zones (hot and dry, hot and humid, cold and damp, moderate with wet and dry periods). The results and laboratory analyses (thickness, DMA, FTIR, TG/DTG) performed on the TPO roof membranes that were exposed for seven years in the various conditions will be summarized. Copyright \ua9 2011 by ASTM International.Peer reviewed: YesNRC publication: Ye